My gift to myself for surviving a horrible business transition (December 'pay' was
negative $12,000 - a 'Merry Christmas' indeed), or perhaps to my heirs if the stress winds up killing me, is going to be a
Bighorn Carbine. It will replace my Guide Gun as my 'go-to' for when something needs a BIG hole in it, and I know the Guide Gun can be loaded to a huge variation in power-levels, depending on who you ask, and how far you trust the Marlin action, but was just musing with my spreadsheet. I am probably just paranoid, but I always get nervous firing 'modern' loads from my Marlin, even though I know it's safer than riding a bicycle; the shortened 1886 action, made with modern steel, and engineered specifically for the 500 S&W, seems the perfect alternative. (It is one levergun I can almost guarantee I won't ever get a 'companion' caliber handgun for, though - the 500 S&W handguns don't much interest me.)
Portable Energy 990.jpg
The new carbine will be almost exactly the same length as my Guide Gun, hold 7 in the magazine instead of 4, and only weigh 10 more ounces. In terms of how much Taylor Knockout Power it can carry, I calculate a number of 450 - more than any of the common other firearms I have (
I don't actually have a 416 Rigby but was curious to compare it) to compare it to, except a 12 gauge (mine is only an 8-shot, actually, as it is a 500 and not a 590, but I was using website data for gun weight and found the 590 first).
That makes sense, because the 12 gauge is just plain DEVASTATING at close range; the difference (hopefully) is that I can shoot more accurately at longer distance with the 500 S&W.
I know there are lots of other loads available for the various cartridges, but
I was just playing around, so don't take my musings TOO seriously...
Anyway, that is BUNCHES of punches in a handy package. I can't wait to actually get it (turnaround time I think is at least six months from what I've heard, so I have to start saving up the difference in cost vs. downpayment now).
![Mr. Green :mrgreen:](./images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif)
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